Preparation of Self-leveling Mortar Based on Anhydrite-II Phosphogypsum

The construction material from anhydrite-II phosphogypsum is dense in structure and has good water resistance. But its disadvantages are low hydration activity and long setting time. In this work, anhydrite-II phosphogypsum is modified by adding a composite activator, which is made of sulfuric acid modified steel slag, β-hemihydrate gypsum and calcium aluminate cement. With this, the hydration rate of anhydrite-II phosphogypsum is clearly increased and setting time shortened. The performance of self leveling mortar prepared is as per JC/T 1023-2021, with softening coefficient of 0.8.

The Influence of Water Reducing Agents on Early Hydration Property of Ferrite Aluminate Cement Paste

The ferrite aluminate cement (FAC) could rapidly lose fluidity or workability due to its excessive hydration rate, and greatly reduce the construction performance. Chemical admixtures are commonly used to provide the workability of cement-based materials. In this study, to ensure required fluidity of FAC, chemically different water reducing agents are incorporated into the FAC pastes. The experiments are performed with aliphatic water reducing agent (AP), polycarboxylic acid water reducing agent (PC) and melamine water reducing agent (MA), respectively. Influence of the water reducing agents on fluidity, setting time, hydration process, hydration product and zeta potential of the fresh cement pastes is investigated. The results show that PC has a better dispersion capacity compared to AP and MA. Besides decreasing water dosage, PC also acts as a retarder, significantly increasing the setting times, delaying the hydration rate and leading to less ettringite in the hydration process of FAC particles. The water reducing agents molecules are adsorbed on the surface of positively charged minerals and hydration products, however, for PC, steric hindrance from the long side chain of PC plays a critical role in dispersing cement particles, whereas AP and MA acting through an electrostatic repulsion force.

The Influence of Temperature on the Hydration Rate of Cements Based on Calorimetric Measurements

The study presents results of calorimetric tests of three different cements. Two Ordinary Portland cements, CEM I 52.5 R and CEM I 42.5 R, and one Blastfurnace cement, CEM III/A 42.5 N LH/HSR/NA, were analysed. The analysis has shown that the empirical formulas derived based on the results can successfully replace the Arrhenius formula in determination of the hydration rate in relation to curing temperature. It was proven that the hydration rate in relation to the curing temperature changes with the progression of hydration. The study introduces an En coefficient which determines the influence of curing temperature on generation of heat. Results of the study have shown that the value of En is not constant and changes with the progression of hydration process. Proposed method of numerical modelling of the total heat generated and generation rate based on obtained results allows for the calculation of those two parameters for any curing conditions.

Supramolecular Frameworks Based on Rhenium Clusters Using the Synthons Approach

The reaction of the K4[{Re6Si8}(OH)a6]·8H2O rhenium cluster salt with pyrazine (Pz) in aqueous solutions of alkaline or alkaline earth salts at 4 °C or at room temperature leads to apical ligand exchange and to the formation of five new compounds: [trans-{Re6Si8}(Pz)a2(OH)a2(H2O)a2] (1), [cis-{Re6Si8}(Pz)a2(OH)a2(H2O)a2] (2), (NO3)[cis-{Re6Si8}(Pz)a2(OH)a(H2O)a3](Pz)·3H2O (3), [Mg(H2O)6]0.5[cis-{Re6Si8}(Pz)a2(OH)a3(H2O)a]·8.5H2O (4), and K[cis-{Re6Si8}(Pz)a2(OH)a3(H2O)a]·8H2O (5). Their crystal structures are built up from trans- or cis-[{Re6Si8}(Pz)a2(OH)a4−x(H2O)ax]x−2 cluster units. The cohesions of the 3D supramolecular frameworks are based on stacking and H bonding, as well as on H3O2−bridges in the cases of (1), (2), (4), and (5) compounds, while (3) is built from stacking and H bonding only. This evidences that the nature of the synthons governing the cluster unit assembly is dependent on the hydration rate of the unit.

Study on Corrosion Mechanism of Different Concentrations of Na2SO4 Solution on Early-Age Cast-In-Situ Concrete

The deterioration of early-age concrete performance caused by SO42− internal diffusion in concrete is a critical factor of concrete durability. In this study, the mechanical properties, heat of hydration, and pore structure of early-age cast-in-situ concrete with different sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) concentrations were studied. The mechanism of SO42− internal corrosion was evaluated by measuring the dynamic elastic modulus, compressive strength, and heat of hydration rate. Scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray computed tomography, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry-derivative thermogravimetry, and differential scanning calorimetry were applied to analyze microstructural variations and complex mineral assemblages of concrete samples. The results indicated that during the hardening process of cast-in-situ concrete, Na2SO4 first promoted and then hindered the hydration rate of cement, and also hindered the early strength development of the cement. As the concentration of Na2SO4 solution increases, the corrosion products of ettringite (AFt) and gypsum (Gyp) gradually increase, causing cross cracks in the concrete. The proportion of small and medium pores first increases and then decreases, and the large pores first decrease and then increase. The mechanical properties of concrete gradually decrease and diminish the mechanical properties of the concrete (thereby accelerating the damage to the concrete).

Experimental Studies on the Structural Strength of Pumping Concrete in Winter

The strength growth of concrete depends on the hydration reaction of cement. Curing temperature and humidity are important conditions to determine the hydration rate of cement. In this paper, rebound method is used to detect the structural strength of pumping commercial concrete in winter construction in Jinhua. The relationship between temperature, rebound value and compressive strength value is analyzed based on the concrete strength detection data. At the same time, some effective measures are put forward to solve the problems in winter construction.

Hydration activity, crystal structural, and electronic properties studies of Ba-doped dicalcium silicate

High belite cement has a wide application potential due to its low energy consumption, low CO2 emission, and excellent durability performance. Due to the low hydration rate and strength development at an early age, the activation of beta-dicalcium silicate (β-C2S) crystallographic structure is essential to improve the early strength of high belite cement. In this study, the β-C2S phase is activated by dissolving Ba2+ ions into the crystal lattice to improve the hydration rate. Unlike the traditional analysis methods of thermodynamics and dynamics theory, the first principle and density functional theory were applied to study the effect of Ba2+ ions on the activation of β-C2S, especially on the crystallographic structure, lattice parameters, and electronic structure change. The crystallographic structure of β-C2S can be activated by doping Ba atom and the crystal formation energy increases and the bandgap between VBM and CBM become narrow in the activated β-C2S crystallographic structure. Comparing the Ca2+ substitution in [CaO6] or [CaO8], the lattice deformation and hydraulic reactivity is more significant in Ba2-C2S and Ba22-C2S. The first principle and density functional theory explains the change of the electronic structure of the activated crystallographic structure and provides a theoretical basis for the purposeful design of material structures.